This invention relates to tires and, more particularly, to steel-belted radial-carcass tires designed for high-speed travel.
A radial-carcass tire comprises a carcass reinforcement formed of cords or cables arranged in radial planes of the tire and a rigid unstretchable tread reinforcement formed of a plurality of plies of cords. The cords are slightly inclined to the circumferential direction of the tire. The tread reinforcement surrounds the carcass reinforcement below the tread.
Travel at high speed on radial-type tires requires a special structure of the tread reinforcement. One solution which has proven itself in practice is described in French Pat. No. 1,427,886. In accordance therewith, the tread reinforcement is practically cylindrical and comprises at least one ply of metal cords or cables with folded edges and at least one unfolded ply of metal cords or cables. This solution results in particularly favorable road properties, including high speed capability.